Waterfall in 1980: History
Clip Waterfall from a paper and keep the axis sentence, not the colour. Year 1980, line “History,” figure 1980. Colour alone does not carry size. Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Popularised in 1980s–90s consulting decks (McKinsey waterfall) signed bar height from a running total Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present. Excel or Google Sheets or PowerPoint; export SVG/PDF. Do not rely on hue alone. Label directly and check greyscale.
Waterfall: honour signed bar height from a running total, and switch when the story is a trend over many periods, not a bridge. The core mark of Waterfall is signed bar height from a running total. P&L bridges, budget vs actual, headcount walks The eye compares length and position more accurately than area.
PowerPoint, Excel or Google Sheets and Meta, Google and retail print share the same geometry. Decoration rarely persuades; it slows reading. Perspective distortion wrecks comparison. Keep it flat. Do not stack stories. One Waterfall, one claim. Rainbow defaults fail color-blind viewers and grey print. Change Excel or Google Sheets defaults.
Keep axis, unit, and year. If “History” is the axis, the figure is 1980 and the year is 1980.1980
Figures to keep
- Year of the chart
- 1980
- Axis figure
- 1980
- Chart
- Waterfall
- How to read it
- History
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